What’s a Social Enterprise?

A social enterprise is also known as “not-for-profit” as profits are used to further social and environmental goals rather than distributed to financial investors.

At East Belfast Mission, the current SE programmes are:

As a social enterprise we aim to fulfil the “triple bottom line”. This means we want to achieve social, financial and environmental goals within the community we are located.

Socially, we provide placement and volunteering opportunities in the community. We teach new skills to long term unemployed, help folk to regain lost confidence and help others to simply socialise and meet new friends. Depending on the SE project they are assigned to, tasks for volunteers will vary and include:

Till operation
Sorting & pricing stock
Computer use
Phone enquiries
Other admin duties
General kitchen help
  

Our social aims are also achieved by selling second-hand, good quality and affordable furniture to local people who perhaps, could otherwise not afford it.

All income from the shops is regenerated into the projects of the organisation. This is how we achieve our financial goals. The projects include the meals on wheels service which is organised from the Mission Café. Meals are delivered 5 days per week to approximately 40 people who may be housebound ill or elderly and would otherwise not have a hot meal during the day.

Environmental issues are also at the top of our agenda. re:store has a close partnership with local councils, working with them to remove good quality bulky waste items and selling them in our shops. We are encouraging clothes recycling and have introduced several banks at other Methodist Church premises and at our main building and our Larne shop. This not only helps the recycling agenda but also increases the shops income. We work in partnership with other charities such as Bryson House who offer guaranteed reconditioned white goods, which are then sold in our shops.